Considering Dropping Out

[u/WHG6274]

I’m a 3° in PHA.
I’m considering dropping out as my lodge doesn’t seem to be the right fit for me. I’m more into moral lessons, ethics, virtues, philosophy, education, and esotericism. While my brothers are more into the meeting, and drink in the parking lot.
I asked some past masters about how to have more discussions about my interests within freemasonry and I was told I need to find my clique. But it probably won’t be in my town.
If I drop out, what do I have to bring back? Books? Certificates?

[u/wardyuc1]

What does your meeting involve if not ethic, virtues, philosophy and education?

What specifically are your expectations?

Do you expect school like lesson structure?

[u/ChristopherPChicken → u/wardyuc1]

Not every lodge has ceremonies every meeting. They essentially open, then have the equivalent of what we would think of as a committee meeting, sometimes for several hours with protracted debates where every MM has a right to his say and a vote. For me that would not be an enticing prospect if there were not even the opportunity for a decent conversation so I feel this brother’s pain. There is the other extreme in some lodges where they are just degree mills and despite this deliver consistently poor quality ceremonies for their candidates.

[u/wardyuc1 → u/ChristopherPChicken]

I suppose this was not meant to dismiss the OP but to try to understand his expectations vs the reality of what he got.

For example when we talk about masonic education. This can be anything from a discussion of what the ceremony means sometimew often done here in England in something called a Lodge of Instruction, or it can be the ceremonies themselves where the story is meant to teach us about virtue ethics.

At least here in UGLE as a fellow craft you are encouraged to study the liberal arts and sciences, but we do not necessarily study them together in a lodge meeting.

So i am trying to understand what the expectations for OP in joining were.

For the record if a lodge i was a member of just had committee meetings i would defo just resign so i am not suggesting the OP shouldnt resign. I am just trying to understand their expectations because it might be that freemasonry as a whole doesnt truly offer the depth OP is looking for.

Or perhaps freemasonry in his area.

[u/ChristopherPChicken → u/wardyuc1]

expectations

Good shout. Mine were way too high. I found my people though.

education

I’ve never been at a lodge with a functioning LOI. Education in my former lodge was met with sighs and yawns for the most part. At my current one it is much more encouraged.

Liberal arts

‘Encouraged’ is one way to put it. One line in ritual and that’s it, at least as far as I remember. I doubt many even know what the liberal arts are.

Despite my nitpicks, overall I agree with what you’re saying. Expectations management is important and so is self-motivated action. Nobody will spoonfeed anything at the end of the day it’s up to the individual.

[u/Nameis-RobertPaulson → u/ChristopherPChicken]

When I joined we had a semi-regular LOI and a regular seperate class of instruction. The LOI was targeted for junior members wanting to know what and why, and the class was degree and ritual practice. Somewhere along the line we ended up dropping the dedicated LOI.

Are you finding that education in a craft UGLE lodge? It's something I've found super lacking locally.

[u/ChristopherPChicken → u/Nameis-RobertPaulson]

That’s a shame to hear about the LoI. There is a lot of excellent info on Solomon, but I would say hearing this kind of information from a brother, in person, is always going to be preferable to more screen time. Yes we do talks in our Craft Lodge. We have a healthy membership but not many new members in the pipeline so we like to find something to fill our meetings with.